The Clinical Use of Cricoid Pressure

What is it about?

Cricoid pressure during rapid sequence induction and intubation has been a "standard" of care for many decades, despite limited scientific proof of its efficacy in preventing pulmonary aspiration of gastric contents. The submission discusses evidence for and against the routine application of cricoid pressure, and presents new scientific evidence of the effectiveness of left-sided paratracheal compression in occluding the esophagus. The authors also provide a set of suggestions for future studies that should be designed to provide scientific evidence for the effectiveness and safety of cricoid pressure application in patients at risk for pulmonary aspiration.

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